Equivalent C declarations

Question

Are

int (*x)[10];

and

int x[10];

equivalent?

According to the \"Clockwise Spiral\" rule, they parse

Answer 1

For me, it's easier to remember the rule as absent any explicit grouping, () and [] bind before *. Thus, for a declaration like

T *a[N];

the [] bind before the *, so a is an N-element array of pointer. Breaking it down in steps:

   a     -- a
   a[N]  -- is an N-element array
  *a[N]  -- of pointer
T *a[N]  -- to T.

For a declaration like

T (*a)[N];

the parens force the * to bind before the [], so

    a      -- a
  (*a)     -- is a pointer
  (*a)[N]  -- to an N-element array
T (*a)[N]  -- of T

It's still the clockwise/spiral rule, just expressed in a more compact manner.